Generally, dental hygiene instruments are exposed to undesirable substances including, but not limited to, plaque, blood, saliva, and/or paste. Sterilizing and/or disinfecting dental hygiene instruments can result in down-time for clinicians. To reduce or eliminate down-time, clinicians can purchase additional dental hygiene instruments. However, the purchase of additional dental hygiene instruments can result in undesirable and high costs.
Additionally or alternatively, clinicians can utilize a protective sleeve on the dental hygiene instrument. The protective sleeve can become dislodged, can undesirably add bulk to the dental hygiene instrument, can create waste, or some combination thereof. In addition, a protective sleeve may add additional cost to utilizing the dental hygiene instrument. Attaching a protective sleeve to a handpiece does not prevent wear associated with engagement and disengagement. If the wear harms the handpiece, then the technician is unable to use it.
Being capable of manipulating dental hygiene instruments is also important. Cords on dental hygiene instruments can restrict movement by the clinician. Using batteries can permit additional mobility for the clinician. However, including a battery in the dental hygiene instrument can add substantial weight, can add substantial cost, can eliminate safety concerns due to the proximity of an electrical power source to a patient, and combinations thereof.
What is needed is a dental hygiene instrument, a system including a dental hygiene instrument, and a process of connecting a dental hygiene instrument that does not suffer from the above drawbacks.